Abramovich expressed interest at buying the Blues back in 2003 and when he and his advisers met with Birch, the then-Chelsea chief did not know if it was legitimate or not.

"Abramovich didn't speak English [when the pair first met]. There was an interpreter. I wasn't totally convinced he was the real thing. I had googled him but he just didn't appear anywhere," he told the London Evening Standard.

"Nobody knew anything about him. So I wasn't sure whether it was a scene from Candid Camera and that suddenly Jeremy Beadle was going to jump out at me.

"But we did the deal in 10 minutes, nothing like that had ever happened. I don't think people appreciated what a game changer it was. I suggested he spent £20m on players. He spent £140m in six weeks, the biggest change I've seen in English football."

About the author

Andrew Slevison is an avid sports fan, particularly of the world game. The Melbourne, Australia native, who has spent time living in London and travelling South America, takes a keen interest in the English Premier League and Major League Soccer and rates his best live footballing moment as the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil.